Of a John: Trout Creek

After spending one and a half weeks on a vacation from climbing, we finally got back into our harnesses. We went to a newly established area called Trout Creek. Trout, is a unique climbing area in the Central Oregon desert. With basalt exposed throughout the area, Trout Creek has become a mini-mecca for splitter crack climbing. Like the sandstone cracks of Utah, Trout cracks are hard and exhausting, you still need a lot of gear to climb, you have to haul all thst metal up to the crag, and to make it worse, you have to climb from 5:00 AM to 12:00 PM in order to avoid the one-hundred degree heat in the middle of the day.

Basalt splitter cracks. Photo courtesy of Larissa Pfifer.

Our first day in Trout Creek was spent lounging in the river because it was already too hot to climb. The next day we got up dark and early and marched 45 minutes uphill to the crag. Upon reaching the cliffs, a climber is overwhlemed with hundreds of cracks within a quarter mile strip of rock. The approach to the cliff base however is a little tricky, because there are massive boulders strewn about the base that make the approach more of an exposed boulder jaunt than a hike (dogs have actually fallen through the boulders and died).

We fished in the river on our first day at Trout with lures made out of wire, rubber bands, and pipe cleaners. We didn't catch any fish.

Me, trying to think like a fish in Trout Creek.

Most climbing areas around the world have guidebooks to accurately depict where the routes are and how hard they are, but Trout Creek is a little different. Trout Creek has a free online guidebook or a 'crag copy' of the book. The 'crag copy' can be found in the 'crag box,' which is a large plastic tub hidden in a cavern under the boulders at the base of a particular route. Inside the tub, one may find a beer, some dope, bandaid's, tape, the guidebook, an emergency blanket, and a note written by a witch that warns all climbers of the dangers of abusing the box. All of the items in the box are available for public use, provided the user does not deface them or take something without replacing it. We found the 'crag box,' and put it to good use. It was nice knowing that we did not need to buy a book for the area, and it was even an updated color version.

The Crag Box and the Crag Book.

After days of demoralizing hard-crack climbing, early wake-ups, and a grueling there-and-back hike every day, the climber gets to come back to camp at 1:00 PM to relax in the river. With a chair propped in the river and a beer in one hand, the climber may expose themeselves to excessive amounts of sun without knowing it.

Myself, George, and Jason, excited about the amount of crack in the area. Photo courtesy of Larissa Pfifer.

Unfortunately Trout Creek left all of us exhausted and discouraged. I even injured my shoulder to the point where I had to take a week off from climbing just to have enough courage to use it again. We left trout Creek for Smith Rock, for some much needed Sport Climbing and 'rest.' While Trout Creek has some hard climbing, it is one of the best crack climbing destinations we have seen since Indian Creek, and I will definitely be returning to it for a longer stay next year.